The choice of J. Robert Oppenheimer as recipient of the Enrico Fermi Award by the Atomic Energy Commission is as welcome as it is overdue. As director of the Manhattan project Dr. Oppenheimer contributed significantly to the development of atomic energy. Both as a scientist and as an administrator he performed valuable and important services.

But in 1955 the Atomic Commission cancelled Dr. Oppenheimer's security clearance after he was charged with flirting with Communism and associating with Communists. Ever since, Oppenheimer's reputation as scientist and citizen has been in question.

There can be no doubt of his exceptional scientific ability, and today few question his loyalty to the Constitution. He lost his security clearance during the McCarthy era, when acceptance of any ideas propounded by Communists was equated with acceptance of Communism.

The Atomic Energy Commission's action deserves commendation, for it represents a refreshing break from the commission's past emphasis on partisanship and political expediency.